After the elections

In this time after the elections, I find myself reflecting on the outcome nationwide. I'm not too surprised at our election of Sen. Obama to the presidency, it was an uphill battle for the republicans, and I don't think they handled themselves that well. Perhaps if the candidate would have had the audacity to vote NO on the 700 billion dollar bailout, or at least vote no on all the pork in the bill, he would have been seen as a candidate who stood on some principles. I think that many will be disappointed at the Democrat controlled federal government, and they will get their 4 years, and we will be back to a government which holds more moderate values.

I find it interesting, as well, how all of the state marriage amendments passed, and none of the state abortion measures passed. I wonder why that is. What people fail to realize, is that these issues are all interconnected. As the family is the instrument of new life, so too is the respect for life caught up in the respect for family. At least people can see the necessity of one; there may yet be hope.

And, speaking of the gay marriage amendment, it is almost funny how California is imploding with shock. Turns out, even people in California think marriage belongs between one man and one woman. The opponents of Prop. 8 have filed a lawsuit against the state, trying to overturn the amendment. I guess they don't understand the idea of a constitutional amendment. The court's job is to uphold, interpret, and defend the constitution (as amended). This is what they did when they found the right to gay marriage in the California constitution. So of course, the people, at this point, realized that this was not what they intended with their constitutional provisions, and, as such, decided to pass an amendment to more clearly articulate the position that the people desired in their constitution. This, my friends, is the democratic legal process at its finest. I wish I could say it is a slam dunk, but this is the California supreme court we are talking about.

This is a time of great need in our country, especially the needs of the unborn. We must, therefore, continue to be fervent in our prayers for them, and for those who oppose their rights. Pray for those politicians who support abortion, that they may see the error of their ways. Pray for the opponents to abortion, that they may be strengthened in their opposition and not give up the fight. Pray in a special way for those Catholics who support abortion, and those who supported candidates who favor abortion, for their souls may be in peril, and we must want them to be found worthy of Heaven when they are judged by the Just Judge. The Church recommends some good prayers for these (all) times. The Rosary is the scourge of the devil and is always a valuable tool of intercession. Holy Mass is the epitome of our prayer life, and should be piously attended often. The divine mercy chaplet is also powerful, as it is in this time when our nation is poised to expand legal powers against the unborn. The chaplet is especially efficacious at the 3:00 hour (the hour of mercy in which our Lord died on the Cross). Above all, pray, for the Lord truly hears us.

Man sues over new breasts

This story is only loosely relevant to this weblog, as it only involves a Catholic hospital, and not really anything but freedom, but it really caught my attention.

Headline, CNA: Catholic hospital sued for refusing breast implants to “transgendered”.

Someone who is genetically and was born a male is suing a Catholic run hospital in California (big surprise) because they refused to give him breast implants.

Hastings has already had major sex-change surgery to make his body resemble a woman’s. He chose a plastic surgeon with privileges at Seton to perform the augmentation surgery. According to Hastings, the surgeon, Dr. Leonard Gray, told him that Seton no longer allowed such operations to be performed on transgendered patients.

Seton Medical Center was previously owned by a large hospital conglomerate, Catholic Healthcare West, during which time it apparently allowed the surgery to transgender people. The Daughters of Charity Health System took ownership of the hospital in 2002, and halted the surgeries in 2006 after learning they were taking place.

Kristina Wertz, legal director of the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, claimed Seton and other area hospitals put up “significant barriers” to care. Wertz believed the hospital’s policy violates the Unruh Act, a state law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation. “There's simply no religious exemption in the Unruh Act," Wertz said. "We're talking about a type of care that's OK for one class but not another.”

Since when did sex-change and even breast augmentation become a "type of care". I can see in the case of a breast cancer patient who had to have a mastectomy or some similar situation that this could be considered a "type of care" but when did it become an entitlement for any man or woman?

It really touches on a deeper issue. How did it become acceptable to be "transgendered"? If I wanted to say I was actually a black man stuck in a white man's body, I'd be labeled as nuts. And, race is poorly defined. Gender is not poorly defined for most people, including most "transgendered" people. There's the physical equipment, the genetic karyotype, and I suppose the birth certificate. Why is it that all it takes is to say "I want to be a woman" if you are a man, and you are, or can be? After all you can't discriminate against gender identity, which is independent of gender. How is this not a mental illness?

No Catholic Help for Orhpans

Catholic Charities of Chicago, recently, announced that they would be closing their foster care program.

Chicago, Apr 18, 2007 (CNA).- The child welfare system in Chicago was shocked this week with the news that the foster care program, run by Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago will shut down June 30th after a $12-million lawsuit payout led the agency's insurer to drop its coverage.

The child care program, established in 1921, is one of the oldest and largest child care programs in the state. In the 1960s, Catholic Charities advocacy prompted the state to take on foster care, leading to the creation of Department of Children and Family Services.

Lawsuits against a benevolent organization are bad. It's like taxing the Church. If you do tax the Church, they close things like Catholic schools and food pantries and the government ends up spending more, because they can't get as much volunteer labor, and have much more overhead costs.


It's really too bad.
-JG